Mormons' First Families Rally Behind Romney

By JIM RUTENBERG; Lisa Schwartz contributed research.

Published: July 17, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY -- In the mid-1800s, newly converted families from across the United States and Europe gathered in the growing Mormon town of Nauvoo, Ill., to help their prophet, Joseph Smith, build a New Jerusalem.

Soon driven out by anti-Mormon neighbors who killed Mr. Smith and his brother Hyrum, they trekked westward by foot and on horseback, chased by Indians, cholera and even United States troops before settling together safely in Utah.

Now, more than 150 years later, descendants of those first families of Mormonism are joining together in a new effort: delivering the White House to Mitt Romney, whose great-great-grandfather Miles Romney settled alongside many of their ancestors in Nauvoo in 1841 and joined their torturous migration.

These families -- Marriotts, Rollinses, Gardners and others -- have formed a financial bulwark and support network for Mr. Romney at every important point in his political career. Starting with his 1994 Senate race, moving into the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics effort that became his political springboard and continuing through his first foray into presidential politics, they have been there to open doors, provide seed money and rally support.

Mr. Romney's candidacy has produced great pride among many Mormons, known officially as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But for this core group of the religion's most prominent families, the ties to Mr. Romney go deeper. They share with him not only a faith, but also a dramatic history in which they have scaled the ladder of American society, starting as vilified outsiders and, after helping to settle the American West, rising to the heights of wealth and success within four generations.

To take one concrete measure of their support, records show that roughly two dozen members of Mormon families provided nearly $8 million of the financing for the ''super PAC'' working to elect Mr. Romney, Restore Our Future, putting them in league with its Wall Street, real estate and energy donors. Prominent Mormons including the JetBlue founder David G. Neeleman and the Credit Suisse chief executive Eric Varvel are on his finance team.

Many of Mr. Romney's major Mormon backers are tied to businesses with robust agendas in Washington -- lobbying on tax, aviation and tourism policy, according to federal filings -- and have something to gain by having a friend in the White House.

But several of these donors say that their giving has nothing to do with their business interests. And while that is a common refrain among major financial supporters of both parties, in this case the candidacy they are backing represents something bigger as it draws new attention to their religion.

''I think for Mormons, particularly for prominent ones who already feel widely accepted and admired individually, this feels like a chance to also see their church, which they love, accepted and admired institutionally,'' said Richard Eyre, a Mormon and a best-selling author who lives in Utah and is a friend of the Romneys.

It is no small thing to Mormons that not one but two of their number were considered appealing contenders for the presidency this year: Mr. Romney and former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah.

Mr. Huntsman's family -- including his father, a former lay official in the Mormon Church -- had been among those who supported Mr. Romney, until Mr. Huntsman developed national aspirations of his own. But Mr. Huntsman, less involved in the church than Mr. Romney, was unable to tap into the Mormon network as Mr. Romney has been.

Throughout Mr. Huntsman's primary campaign some on his team reported receiving a subtle but clear signal: This is Mr. Romney's year.

Now the presumptive Republican nominee, Mr. Romney's base of support is broadening steadily. As his national finance director Spencer Zwick, who is Mormon, said, ''We are now beginning our Catholics coalition for Romney; we have a Jewish fund-raising director -- the only way that a campaign turns into a cause is if you have outreach to many different groups.''

Business, and Personal

In interviews, several of Mr. Romney's supporters expressed their concerns that attention to the financial support he has received from other early families of the religion would raise old prejudices and accusations of clannishness that followed their forebears. For many, their support is born of their personal admiration for Mr. Romney, as well as of their shared values and experiences with him, whether in business, at Brigham Young University or as high-level lay officials of the church.

''Obviously, there's a Mormon tie there,'' said Kevin B. Rollins, a former Bain & Company partner and onetime chief executive of Dell computers, who has donated $375,000 to Restore Our Future. ''But it's much more about his competency as a manager and an administrator.'' You don't keep winning positions of leadership if you mess them up, he said.

Mr. Rollins came to know Mr. Romney when Mr. Romney was running the Bain private equity firm, and now holds the Mormon ''stake presidency'' in Boston that Mr. Romney once held.